Chapter 186: Is the Residential Area the Animal Zone?
"Captain!"
The man in black's last remaining teammate roared, his voice thick with grief and disbelief as his eyes turned bloodshot. He surged forward, only to freeze again after two desperate steps, his body locked in place by pure terror.
With a sickening, wet tear, the captain's head was ripped clean from his shoulders, popping off like the lid of a kettle. A geyser of dark red blood erupted from the stump of his neck, spraying impossibly high—so high it nearly grazed the canvas roof of the tent. It rained back down in thick, viscous sheets, splattering across the ground and staining everything a gruesome crimson.
The Circus Troupe Leader's painted smile began to stretch. It tore at the corners, ripping wider and wider until his mouth split all the way to his ears, gaping open wide enough to swallow a soccer ball whole.
Gulp… Gulp, gulp…
He shoved the severed neck into that horrifying maw and began to swallow, his throat rolling with greedy, convulsive movements. With each gulp, his abdomen bulged, rising at a rate visible to the naked eye.
With a final, shuddering gasp, the last teammate collapsed to the ground with a dull thud. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, a man utterly broken by either the abject horror of the scene or the despair of his captain's demise.
"Let's go."
Haruto's voice was calm as he grabbed Youmu's wrist, immediately pulling her into a run. Youmu, stunned for a half-second, instinctively turned to call for Kaguya, only to find that the runaway princess had already bolted to the tent's entrance. She was waving at them impatiently, urging them to hurry up.
"Don't worry about her," Haruto said with a sigh, pulling a still-dazed Youmu along. "When it comes to running for her life, that girl is faster than I am every single time."
He dragged Youmu to the entrance, where they followed Kaguya in a sharp left turn, quickly vanishing from the scene of the massacre.
A short while later, the three of them stood before a large bulletin board, upon which was a map of the entire circus grounds.
The entrance—the very tent they had just fled—was located at the park's front gate. In the center of the map was a massive Grand Performance Area, which was encircled by seven smaller tents, likely for spinning wheel games like the one they'd been lured into. Besides those, the map showed basic amusement park facilities, like a merry-go-round.
And in the deepest, most remote part of the park, there was an unlabeled section. This had to be the Residential Area.
Following Kaguya's lead, Haruto could already piece together the situation.
He recalled the first point on the tourist rules: Open daily from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM; please remain in the Residential Area after the park closes.
From the moment they had entered this instance, the time had already been well past the official closing hour. Their first and most logical task should have been to head directly to the Residential Area for safety. Yet, that creature calling itself the Circus Troupe Leader had been actively guiding them to play his "games."
The man in black from earlier had walked right into that trap and paid for it with his life.
Honestly, Haruto thought, the deception wasn't that hard to see through. What kind of circus has only a single troupe leader? The entire park was shrouded in darkness, none of the facilities were running, and there wasn't another soul in sight.
Looking at it that way, the "Circus Troupe Leader" either had a drastic personality shift at night, or… he wasn't human to begin with.
Haruto leaned toward the former. A simple ghost probably wouldn't be entrusted with a clue as critical as the tourist rules.
The three of them were in good physical shape, and they covered half the distance to the Residential Area without so much as getting winded. The Grand Performance Area they passed was a colossal tent, at least seven or eight times larger than a normal one. Inside, rows of tiered seating rose like those in a concert hall, all facing a central stage.
Haruto kept his pace moderate, his eyes scanning their surroundings as they ran. He quickly noticed they were being followed.
The man was a brawny figure with a long, faded scar running down the left side of his chest. Even through the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt, the powerful contours of his bulging muscles were obvious. He carried himself with a rough, street-hardened air that screamed trouble.
Haruto didn't care. He let the man follow. If he was foolish enough to try anything, Youmu would naturally ensure he became completely and utterly "well-behaved."
"Who are you!?"
A clear, sharp shout suddenly cut through the night from up ahead.
The speaker was a young woman, tall and poised, dressed in a crisp blue uniform—clearly a circus employee.
"We're tourists who just arrived today," Haruto explained calmly.
"Tourists?" The girl's brow furrowed in suspicion, but as her gaze fell upon the tourist rule pamphlets in their hands, her expression smoothed over. "The circus is open from ten in the morning until eight at night. It's already closed, so you shouldn't be wandering around outside."
Seeing that the three of them weren't much older than her, her tone softened slightly. "Come with me. I'll take you to where you'll be staying."
Haruto exchanged a silent look with Kaguya and Youmu. After a moment of consideration, they all gave a subtle nod and decided to follow her. For now, at least, the girl in the blue uniform showed no malice.
Besides, Rule Six was clear: When encountering difficulties, such as getting lost, you can trust the blue-uniformed employees; do not listen to those in red uniforms.
This was a strong indication that the blue-uniformed staff were trustworthy. And their current situation could most certainly be considered "getting lost."
It was a pity Lin Xuelao wasn't here, Haruto mused. Her unique perception was especially useful when dealing with people.
"You over there," the girl in the blue uniform called out, noticing the scarred man lingering in the distance. She gestured for him to approach. "You're also a new tourist who arrived today, right? Come along."
Hearing her, the scarred man, who had been trailing them in silence, jogged over.
"Yes, yes! I came with them today," he said, quickly showing his own tourist rules pamphlet while squeezing out a smile that looked more like a grimace.
The girl gave it a brief glance before turning her back and starting to walk. "Follow me."
Haruto immediately fell in step behind her, and the others kept pace. No one spoke, and the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward until the scarred man finally broke the silence.
"My name is Wu Lian," he said, his voice a low rumble. "I wasn't trying to follow you creepily just now, so don't be afraid. It's just… you three kids look pretty smart."
As if trying to build some rapport, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing thick, powerful forearms. "If you run into any danger, you can come to me. I don't have much else, but I've definitely got plenty of strength."
Haruto couldn't help but smile at how cautiously Wu Lian spoke, clearly afraid of scaring them. It just went to show you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Based on appearances alone, the man looked exactly like a brutish street thug.
Even the girl in the blue uniform leading the way let a small smile grace her lips, her pace quickening slightly. Youmu, ever polite, replied kindly and answered a few of his simple questions.
After walking briskly for about ten more minutes, Haruto finally saw their destination: the so-called Residential Area. It was just as pitch-black as the rest of the park, but it was enclosed by a high steel fence topped with barbed wire.
Haruto raised an eyebrow at the sight of the fence. Was this to keep the ghosts and monstrous nighttime staff out?
Or was it to keep them in?
"Go on inside," the girl instructed. "From now on, unless it's absolutely necessary, don't come out at night." She used a keycard from her pocket to swipe open the electronic lock on the gate.
Haruto nodded and was about to step forward—
"Wait! Don't go in!"
A hoarse, desperate shout suddenly echoed from the darkness behind them.
A man with a hunched back emerged from the shadows, walking quickly toward them. He was wearing a bright, almost garish, red uniform.
Haruto paused, pulling back the foot he was about to move.
Although the tourist rules had already led him to a preliminary judgment—that the red-uniformed staff were likely hostile to the players—he was still willing to hear what the man had to say. Information was information.
"It's dangerous inside!" the man in the red uniform shouted, his tone agitated as he pointed a trembling finger toward the area inside the fence. "Look closely! Haven't you noticed yet? It's full of animals that escaped from the Animal Zone! The Residential Area is no longer a residential area! The Animal Zone is the Residential Area!"
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